Making Stuff in My Beloved Brooklyn

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My New Hive

In my last post, I told you about my new interest in beekeeping. Since then, I’ve been attending classes, reading pretty much everything I could get my hands on, and watching hours and hours of YouTube videos. I was also looking for a place to put a hive. I asked around at every community garden and they either already had hives or didn’t want any. My determination finally paid off when I met someone who has a friend who wanted a hive.

So I contacted her and she agreed to let me put it on her roof! So I sprang into action and started making a list of everything I need and ordering the woodenware and tools. I had NO idea there were so many choices to be made about hives. You not only need to know what type of hive (I decided on a Langstroth which is probably the most common one) and then the number of frames (8 or 10), how may hive boxes, the type of bottom board and on and on. I’ll be discussing more of these parts in future posts.

And because I never make things simple, I had to assemble all the pieces myself. There was lots of hammering involved (and I can proudly say I only hit my thumb once). Then I went to Home Depot to get paint. I decided on lavender because, well, lavender. Then I faced my biggest hurdle: getting bees.

I wanted to get package bees, but when the order was put in, I didn’t have a place for my hive yet. Usually people order bees early in the year so by the time spring comes around, a lot of places are sold out. I was so sad, but I didn’t give up. Instead, I pulled a “Field of Dreams” and decided to set the hive up anyway. Eventually I found someone and he delivered the bees a couple of days ago.

By the time the bees got here, the sun was going down (and it was raining) so I just put them into the hive as quickly as I could since they don’t like wet or dark weather and they’d already been cooped up in a box. I was able to take a few pictures. They’re not great, but at least I have pictures of the day I started my first hive.

So, here’s it is. The white box in front is the nuc box that the bees arrived in. There were a few bees that didn’t want to leave, so I left it there so they could make their way into the hive when they’re ready.

Aside from working, I haven’t been doing much with my hands lately except make a set of mala beads. I haven’t even turned on my sewing machine in months even though I have a bunch of items on my list. The weather has been pretty cool/cold/rainy, so I haven’t needed any summer dresses, but I’ve been keeping my eyes open for pretty fabrics because I know I can whip up a maxi dress in a few hours if I need to.

I’m trying to find some balance because I know I get very unhappy when I’m not being creative. I may have to schedule time to work on my projects instead of waiting for the magic combination of time and inspiration. My creative work deserves as much, if not more, attention than any work I do for other people. I have to remember that.

Anyhow, I’m going to do an inspection on Saturday, so I’ll take better pictures then. I just need to figure out how to focus while wearing my veil.